Meat and bone meal interest levels were diminished in the Asian market again this week. Prices were flat for China but lower for Indonesia on accounts of full warehouses ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday. Australia and New Zealand domestic and export values were lower with an average of AU$750/mt and NZ$725/mt, individually.

The MLA reported cattle slaughter at 95,587 for last week, down from the week prior by 39.3 percent but 14.6 percent higher than 2023 levels. Slaughter in both New Zealand and Australia was slow through the end of December 2023 and into the middle of January on holiday downtime. However, year-to-date volume, at 353,659 head, are up from 2023 by 12.1 percent.

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